Ribbon-tie.



PATENTED JAN. 6, 1903.

0. E. SMITH. RIBBON TIE. I APPLICATION FILED 1 318, N02.

I0 MODEL.

I MIX/755555 ls PEYERS as man CLARENCE E. SMITH, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO PATENT OFFICE.

MOORE AND R. A. MOORE, JR, OF KENSINGTON, CONNECTICUT.

RIBBON-TIE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters'Patent No. 717,777, dated January 6, 1903.

7 Application filed April 8, 1902. Serial lilo. 101,906- (No model.)

To all whom it concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE E. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ribbon-Ties, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in ribbon-ties; and the object of my improvement is to providea simple, cheap, and convenient device for securing the two ends of a ribbon or soft belt.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my ribbon-tie, together with a perspective View of a neck-ribbon with its ends secured by means of the said tie. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the said tie and a portion of the said ribbon. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the tie withoutthe ribbon, and Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a modified form of the said tie.

My said tie is formed of a plate of metal having any suitable body portion 5, ornamented in any desired manner, extending from which body portion there are two wings 9, each having a substantially longitudinal V-shaped slot 6, with the point or apex of the V extending outwardly away from the body portion. The mouth 7 of this slot opens upwardly, as shown, and, if desired, the metal on one side or the other of the said month may project inwardly, as at 8, so as to make the mouth narrower than the width of the widest part of the slot just inside the said mouth. I am enabled to thus contract and guard the mouth of the slots, because the body 5 of the device extends upwardly between the wings 9 above the mouth of the slots in the said wings. The contour of the metal outside of the said slot and its mouth is immaterial further than that it should be a pleasing shape. Below the wings 9 I form a holding-arm 10, separated from the body of the wings 9 'by a slot 11, the shape of which slot is not essential.

In use the ends 12 of the ribbon, scarf, or belt to be fastened about the neck or waist of the wearer are one by one put into the slot in the wings and pulled toward the apex of the said slot to pinch and bind the ribbon. The last end to be fastened should be pulled shaped slots securely fasten the ribbon solong as the ends stay in place; but in order that they maynot'work out of place I prefer to pass the ends under theholding-arm 10, as

shown.

In Fig. i I have shown substantially the same construction as in the other figures, excepting that the holding-arm 10 is connected with the metal of the tie by its outer instead.

of its inner end and the separating-slot 11 is correspondingly changed. The other parts of the tie are the same as before described and are designated by the same reference numerals.

By my improvement a cheap and efficient tie may be formed out of plate metal. The ribbon does not have to be sewed or otherwise permanently connected by one end to the tie, leaving only one detachable end,as in ordinary ties or buckles; but both ends are secured in the same way, so that the ribbon may be unfastened from either end. It is also fastened so that any desired length of free ends may be left and with both free ends alike for arranging them in a bowor otherwise, as may be desired.

I am aware that one or more prior patents show tie-fasteners for holding the ends of twins when wound around a box or package, the said fasteners having slots for receiving and gripping the wrapping-twine, and I hereby disclaim the same. My device is not a wrapping-twine holder, but is designed for securing a folded or gathered fabric when worn upon the person. Fastening devices having gripping-slots will generally hold se-.

curely when the material gripped thereby is strained under considerable tension,but when worn upon the person, as my tie is designed to be, the tension must not be such as to be uncomfortable to the wearer, and thus a fastener that would not untie when drawn tautly around a box or package might untie if left loosely for the comfort of the wearer. By

making the mouth of the holding-slots of my tie open upwardly I may form the said slots with a contracted mouth, so that whenever sufficient material is folded or gathered with in the said slots to fill them the contracted or guarded mouth tends to hold the material thus gathered within, so as to prevent accidental unfastening, even if the holding-arms are not present and if the ribbon is not drawn uncomfortably taut about the person. I prefer, however, to employ the holding-arms, and by the employment of the said arms in addition to the guarded mouth I make the fastener doubly secure, and at the same time it is not necessary to draw the ribbon or fabric so tightly as to be uncomfortable to the wearer.

I claim as my invention The herein-described ribbon-tie, comprisingaplate of metal having a central body por- CLARENCE E. SMITH.

Witnesses:

FREDK. M. HOLMES, W. A. KIMBALL. 

